Indoor golf game

ABSTRACT

A golf-type game comprises a carton with a top panel hingedly connected to the back wall, and an overlying target panel hinged to the forward edge of the top panel, so that upon raising the top panel, the target panel may be hinged down to dispose its lower edge in the carton, back from the front edge of the carton. The target panel may have a target hole in it, but is preferably solid to constitute a force-absorbing member that deadens the impact of a projectile striking it. The target panel may have a supplemental lower edge panel fitted with a putting hole, with a movable gating member to be moved over the hole to change its size. The projectile is a ball made of a shell of light plastic having built into it a tee portion also of light plastic. The projectile is struck by a club having a head with oppositely disposed chipping and putting faces, and head being connected by a universal joint to an extensible shaft. A supplemental target may be provided.

United States Patent 1191 Fox et a].

[ Sept. 24, 1974 INDOOR GOLF GAME [22] Filed: Aug. 16, 1972 21 Appl. N0.2 281,052

[52] US. Cl...... 273/178 R, 273/181 A, 273/199 R, 273/168, 273/8l.2, 206/46 AM, 273/34 B, 206/455 [58] Field of Search. 206/45.15; 206/46 AM, 44.11, 206/45.15; 273/181, 177, 178, 179, 180, 34, 182, 32, 35, 199, 81.2, 168

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,262,314 4/1918 Downey 273/181 R 1,502,248 7/1924 206/44.11 1,665,620 4/1928 Amatel 206/44.11 1,676,975 7/1928 Anderson et al 273/177 R 3,466,049 9/1969 Fox et al 273/181 A x l 60 H g/ F" as 1' 75 Primary ExaminerGeorge J. Marlo [5 7 ABSTRACT A golf-type game comprises a carton with a top panel hingedly connected to the back wall, and an overlying target panel hinged to the forward edge of the top panel, so that upon raising the top panel, the target panel may be hinged down to dispose its lower edge in the carton, back from the front edge of the carton. The target panel may have a target hole in it, but is preferably solid to constitute a force-absorbing member that deadens the impact of a projectile striking it.

The target panel may have a supplemental lower edge panel fitted with a putting hole, with a movable gating member to be moved over the hole to change its size. The projectile is a ball made of a shell of light plastic having built into it a tee portion also of light plastic. The projectile is struck by a club having a head with oppositely disposed chipping and putting faces, and head being connected by a universal joint to an extensible shaft. A supplemental target may be provided.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures INDOOR GOLF GAME BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION This invention includes improvements on parts of a device shown in our earlier US. Pat. No. 3,466,049 issued Sept. 9, 1969, but is essentially different therefrom. In that patent, a practice device is disclosed including a rather cumbersome target for use with a practice golf club and ball simulator. In the present case, a more convenient and easily set up target is provided, which incorporates a carton so that the different components of the game can be stored within that carton for shipment or other reasons. In this game ball-type projectiles are directed at the target by chipping or putting. In chipping, the target panel is sufficiently deadening in effect on the impact of the projectile that the projectile drops, and the arrangement is such that it falls into the front of the carton where it can easily be recovered for another stroke.

The target panel preferably has a supplemental panel .on its lower edge which can be folded out and fixed in rigid position at the bottom of the target panel. This has a putting hole in it. The target panel may be set up with its lower edge outside of the carton, presenting the putting notch to be entered by a golf ball putted across a surface. The gating member can be turned over this putting hole to reduce its size for reasons to appear.

The projectile in this case comprises a ball or spherical shell of plastic material the size of a golf ball but very light in weight. It has a tee member formed with it and also of very light weight to set the ball the proper height above the surface that it can be chipped toward the target.

The game also includes a club for projecting the projectile. This club has an extensible telescopic handle attached to the club head by a universal joint with sufficient friction that the club head remains in an adjusted position. The club head has two oppositely-disposed faces, one being a chipping face with a considerable slope to it, the opposite one being a putting face substantially vertical. With it, the projectile can be chipped toward the target with as much swing as the player desires, considering the area available, etc. In the event that he wishes to use the club for putting a regular golf ball, he turns the head around to present the putting face for play.

In some cases, it is desired to have a supplemental target which may be, if desired, somewhat larger. It can be folded vertically in the middle and confined in the carton or extended to present the same kinds of target areas to the player as the former target panel.

The chipping target may be solid for reasons above mentioned. On the other hand, it may have a hole in it which adds other scoring possibilities as explained hereafter. However, this makes the recovery of the projectile a little more difficult, since it is less accessible when it must be recovered from between the back wall and target panels.

As will appear, the device is used as a game. It does have value in assisting to improve certain golf strokes, but its principal purpose is to provide a game with different scoring chances.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the target device extended;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation with the target device in one operating position;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the target device in different position;

FIG. 4 is a front-to-rear vertical section of the target device and carton in closed condition and enclosing a supplemental target;

FIG. 5 is a perspective veiw showing one position of the target device and a manner of using it;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation of the device set up with a supplemental target;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the device of FIG. 6 showing the supplemental target;

FIG. 8 is a compound view of the projectile device and its normally-attached tee; and

FIG. 9 is an extended view of the club component.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, particularly, this invention incorporates a box carton 15 having a receptacle portion 16 with side, bottom, end, front and rear walls. As shown in FIG. 4, the front wall 17 is folded over on itself for reinforcement and the back wall '18 has a fold 19 in it from which a top panel 20 extends. This top panel 20 is of a size to extend over and close the top of the carton.

The forward edge of the top panel 20 also has a fold 21 in it beyond which an extension 22 constitutes a target panel. This target panel is slightly narrower than the top panel 20 so that it may be received within the box portion of the carton when the carton is closed. This panel, as well as other panels, may have advertising on it, as indicated. This can enable the game to be used as a promotional device. Advertising on the target panel may have a further function as will appear.

At its end, which when in use is its bottom end, the target panel 22 may have another fold 23 from which projects a supplemental panel 24. The panel 24 may be folded over as shown in FIG. 4, or may be extended as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. In order to secure the supplemental panel 24 in its extended condition, there are notches 30 in the panels 22 and 24 adjacent their points of meeting, and U-shaped clips 31 of resilient plastic material (such as manuscript binder clips) can slide along the edges of the panel 24 until they reach the notches 30, whereupon they are slipped into the notches and span the fold 23, thereby holding the panel 24 as a rigid extension of the panel 22.

The supplemental panel 24 preferably has a generally rounded cutout 33 medially in its outer edge which, in use, is its bottom edge. This hole can be approximately four inches across. There is also a generally U-shaped gating member 34 swivelled onto the panel 24 by a pivot 35, so that the gating member may be swivelled either to be clear of or to cover the opening 33. The gating member has a small rounded opening 36 which, when the member 34 is swung around from the position shown in FIG. 3, will present a smaller opening only a little bit larger than a golf ball, through which a golf ball may be putted.

The folded condition of the parts is shown in FIG. 4. The first extended condition is shown in FIG. 2 in which the box portion 16 is shown resting on the, ground or floor, the back panel 20 is extended upwardly and forwardly, and the target panel 22 is turned downwardly and forwardly. In FIGS. 2 and 5 the panel 24 is held as a rigid extension of the target panel. Within the bottom of the carton 16 there are small blocks 38. These may either be secured to the bottom wall or may be turned up from the material of the bottom wall. They hold the bottom edge of the compound target panel 22 so that it is spaced back of the front wall 17.

Two holes 39 are provided through the upper corners of the target panel 22, and aligned holes 40 are provided in the top panel 20. By passing cords or laces through these holes, the supplemental target may be attached as hereafter described.

An alternate position is provided, with the target panel 22 outside of the front wall 17, as shown in FIG. 3. With this arrangement, the putting opening 33 is exposed.

The target member may be used with a supplemental target 45 as particularly shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In these figures, the carton 16 has its top panel 20 and front panel 22 set up as indicated with the extension 24 rigid with the panel 22. In this case, however, the front edge of the panel 24 is brought forward to the front wall 17 of the box portion.

The supplemental target 45 comprises two pieces of cardboard or other appropriate material 46 and 47 hinged together about a medial vertical fold or hinge 48. This target illustrates the use of a large center opening 50 as well as the larger putting opening 51 and the gate 52 swivelled onto the target with a smaller putting opening 53. This supplemental target 45 can thus be folded upon itself and, as shown in FIG. 4, it is contained within the box carton when the same is closed, since its dimensions when folded are substantially equal to the dimensions of the interior of the carton. This arrangement gives a somewhat larger target. This supplemental target has two holes 56 at its upper edge that receive tie cords 57 that also thread through openings 39 and 40 toward the upper edges of the front and target panels 20 and 22.

The supplemental target is provided mainly to have a larger target. The opening 50 could be provided in the other target panel 22 if desired, but it is preferable to have that solid so that it can provide an advertising space, or, if the device is not used in that commercial manner, may have a golf scene on it that simulates the appearance of a golf area. Another commercial application is to have a golf scene on the supplemental target and an advertising message on panel 22 visible to the viewer through the opening 50.

For the chipping shots at the target panels, a projectile shown in FIG. 8 is used. This projectile consists of a shell 60 of light plastic material having a hole 62 through the shell. A tee member also of light hollow plastic material is shown at 63. It has a shank 64 with coarse threads on it so that it may be threaded into the hole 62 where it will remain securely in position. It is designed to keep the ball portion 60 elevated above the ground or floor an appropriate distance for the chip shots used in the game.

The club 70 illustrated in FIG. 9 has a telescopic shaft 71 to which is attached a head 72. The handle and the club head are attached through a universal joint 73 that has enough friction that, although it permits manual adjustment of the head on the shaft, nevertheless holds the head in adjusted position for the purposes of the game. The club head 72 has one sloping surface 74 on it for chipping and opposite that it has a relatively vertical surface 75 for putting.

USE OF THE GAME The game, using the preferred scoring version, can be played by any number of players, usually one to four. It can be packaged in the carton itself. As shown in FIG. 4, the club is in the package along with one or several of the projectiles 60 and one or more regular golf balls 61. Additionally, the supplemental target 45 with its two panels 46 and 47 folded upon themselves can also be received within the box portion of the carton. In closed condition, the extension panel 24 is folded back, the clips 31 having been slid away from the notches 30 and fold joint 23. The target panel 22 is folded about the fold 21 to lie flat against the top panel 20, and the latter is then turned down to close the top of the box.

To set up the principal embodiment, the cover panel 20 is pulled up, hinging about the fold or hinge 19. The target panel is turned down and forwardly about the fold or hinge 21. The extension panel 24 is extended, and the clips 31 are slid across the hinge 21 in the notches 30 at the opposite sides. This provides a rigid front target of paperboard or corrugated carton board. The bottom edge of the rigid target is placed behind the stops 38 that project up from the bottom of the carton. This disposes the target in the position illustrated in FIG. 5. It is oriented toward a point from which the shot is to be made.

The first strokes of the game being chip shots such as a player would play if he were approaching a green, the player takes one of the projectiles of FIG. 8 and sets it on the floor, rug or ground as indicated in FIG. 5. It is supported slightly above the floor, rug or earth by its tee element 63. An advantage of using our practice ball over a conventional practice ball is that we eliminate the need for a mat. The player extends the shaft of the club 70 and turns its head so that the chipping face 74 can be brought so that he, as a rightor left-handed person, can use the club to stroke the projectile. He then addresses the ball as he would in playing golf, and swings the club to chip the projectile toward the target. If he misses the target panel 22, he must take another stroke. He must count the number of strokes that he takes until he does strike the target panel 22 and causes the projectile 60 to be retained in the box. If the player strikes the ball projectile too hard (and with force greater than what is required for a chip shot), the projectile will rebound out of the box. Hence a good score requires the projectile to fall into the box.

When a player properly chips the projectile to strike the target panel 22, the projectile drops down into the box in front of the target where it is retained and is readily accessible. The panel 22, and preferably the whole structure, shown in FIG. 1 are made of cardboard, although other materials can be used as will be apparent. It is desired to have a material that will dampen the impact of the projectile so that it drops down into the forward part of the box and does not bounce completely out of it when struck with a force commensurate with a properly stroked chip shot for the distance traversed by the projectile.

If desired, the target can have smaller target areas marked out on it, as for example in the form of an advertising message; or can have a hole similar to the cutout 50 in the supplemental target. This can provide other scoring possiblities than the previously described scoring version; such as, if the player knocks the projectile over the target so that it does not strike the target panel 22 at all, that would count three strokes. If he hits the target panel 22 but does not go through the hole, this could count two strokes and finally if he hits the advertising message or goes through the target hole, that would count one stroke. It is evident that many scoring system may be devised by particular players depending on their golfing skill.

After the player has finished chipping, the device is prepared for putting. To do this, a player removes the lower edge of the extension panel from the stops 38 and places it outside the forward wall 17 of the box portion.

In the preferred manner of playing the game, the gating member 34 is turned down for the first putting stroke to present only the smaller putting hole 36 to the player. With this arrangement, the player putts toward the smaller hole. If the ball does not enter the hole, the gate 34 is returned to its inactive position and subsequent putts are made toward the larger hole. The total number of strokes required for getting the ball into the hole is the players putting score. Each players total score is the sum of his chipping and putting strokes.

Sometimes players prefer a larger target. This is attained by use of the supplemental target of FIGS. 6 and 7. It is opened out as shown in FIG. 6, and laces 57 are threaded through the sets of holes 56, 39, and 40, and tied. This supports the supplemental target as shown in FIG. 7. This target is shown with the hole 50 as a special target area. The chip shots are scored as described in the second version and the putts are scored the same as described before.

If some players desire a higher target, this can be best accommodated with the supplemental target by using the laces to suspend it from some elevated support.

After the playing is finished, the club and projectiles are placed in the carton, the panels folded, and the box closed.

Various changes and modifications may be made within this invention as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are within the scope and teaching of this invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. For use in a golf-like game adapted to employ a target, a projectile and a club: the combination comprising a carton having side, front, rear and bottom walls; a cover panel and a target panel hinged together at their top edges and arranged to be set up with the panels extending upwardly from the carton, and converging to the hinge at the top, the lower edge of the cover panel being hinged to the upper edge of the rear wall and means to position the bottom of the target panel in the carton back from the front wall of the carton to provide a receptacle area in the front part of the carton, ahead of the target surrounded by the front, side, and target panels, the target panel being formed of a rigid but relatively soft material that can dampen impact of a projectile when it is chipped against the target panel by a player swinging the club against it, and to cause such projectile to drop into the receptacle area, the target panel having at its lower edge means providing a putt-receiving opening of a size to receive a golf ball, intersecting the said lower edge, the target panel being movable to outside the carton, to dispose its lower edge adjacent a floor or like support, with the putt-receiving opening accessible to a golf ball rolled along the floor.

2. The game of claim 1, wherein there also is a gate swingably mounted on the target panel, the gate having an opening smaller than that in the target panel, movable optionally across the putt-receiving opening to reduce the size thereof.

3. The game of claim 1, with an extension panel, means hinging the extension panel as an extension of the target panel, and the putt-receiving opening being through the extension panel.

4. The game of claim 1 with a projectile as a ball type device, made of light weight material and with a light weight tee attached to it.

5. The game of claim 1 with a club that has a head with two faces, one for putting, the other for chipping, a handle, and a joint between the handle and head that enables the head to be turned to present either face in position to be used against the projectile.

6. The game of claim 5, wherein the club has an extensible shaft. 

1. For use in a golf-like game adapted to employ a target, a projectile and a club: the combination comprising a carton having side, front, rear and bottom walls; a cover panel and a target panel hinged together at their top edges and arranged to be set up with the panels extending upwardly from the carton, and converging to the hinge at the top, the lower edge of the cover panel being hinged to the upper edge of the rear wall and means to position the bottom of the target panel in the carton back from the front wall of the carton to provide a receptacle area in the front part of the carton, ahead of the target surrounded by the front, side, and target panels, the target panel being formed of a rigid but relatively soft material that can dampen impact of a projectile when it is chipped against the target panel by a player swinging the club against it, and to cause such projectile to drop into the receptacle area, the target panel having at its lower edge means providing a putt-receiving opening of a size to receive a golf ball, intersecting the said lower edge, the target panel being movable to outside the carton, to dispose its lower edge adjacent a floor or like support, with the putt-receiving opening accessible to a golf ball rolled along the floor.
 2. The game of claim 1, wherein there also is a gate swingably mounted on the target panel, the gate having an opening smaller than that in the target panel, movable optionally across the putt-receiving opening to reduce the size thereof.
 3. The game of claim 1, with an extension panel, means hinging the extension panel as an extension of the target panel, and the putt-receiving opening being through the extension panel.
 4. The game of claim 1 with a projectile as a ball type device, made of light weight material and with a light weight tee attached to it.
 5. The game of claim 1 with a club that has a head with two faces, one for putting, the other for chipping, a handle, and a joint between the handle and head that enables the head to be turned to present either face in position to be used against the projectile.
 6. The game of claim 5, wherein the club has an extensible shaft. 